Dear Prospective Authors, (And a oneshot for y'all)
by OctaviaWithStarsForEyes
Summary: I wrote a letter for prospective authors, encouraging you to write. I also wrote a cute oneshot for you guys./ Rated T for mild language.


**Hey guys! So I was in the middle of updating Catching Up, when I decided to write something for the prospective authors out there. I've never seen anyone do this, and I know it might have been nice if someone had done this for me. Enjoy, and know that I'm completely sincere. I will also include a fluffy oneshot at the end.**

 **Dear Prospective Authors,**

 **It doesn't matter how you got here. Maybe you stumbled upon fanfiction, maybe you've read it for years, maybe your friend told you. Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. I know you want to write and contribute to this archive, so do it. It doesn't matter if you're a good writer or a bad writer. Because practicing will help you improve, and the reviews you get from others will help you improve.**

 **When I first found ff I only read it. I read it for months and months before finally deciding to try my hand at some of my own. I was paranoid people would hate it, or worse, no one would notice it at all. But I joined anyway and gave it my all, and it changed my life. The euphoria that filled my chest when I got my first review told me that this was a pivotal moment in my life. And to this day, I am a changed person. But I wrote this so that YOU, yes YOU THERE, can amass the courage to write your own stuff. Just do it, you have nothing to lose. If you're still nervous, here are five tips:**

 **\- Use a pen name and don't give too much information. Security is really important, and as long as you don't reveal too much about yourself, you'll be fine.**

 **\- Don't take every criticism as a flame. Most people mean well and are just trying to help you improve.**

 **\- Don't apologise, don't disclaim. You have nothing to be sorry about, so none of that, "Sorry, bad summary" or "Not my best work" or "Sorry about how bad this chapter is". No, just no. You have the courage to put yourself out on a public forum, so put yourself out there as confidently as you should be. You deserve that confidence.**

 **\- Be patient. Don't worry if you don't get many reviews on your first stuff. It takes time for stories to gain reviews. In the case of a multi-chapter, the reviews grow with every chapter.**

 **\- Write as best you can. And I CANNOT stress this enough. Spellcheck and grammar check! It is despicable and insufferable to read through a fic that has not been checked. Even if you don't qualify for a beta yet, ask a close friend to at least check those for you. Make sure your characters aren't OOC. Make sure everything makes sense. And make sure YOU like your work before you publish it, otherwise it's not worth it.**

 **Okay, hope this was helpful to any of you out there. Please, PLEASE pm me if you want to talk to someone, or want me to help you edit something even if neither of us can be a beta yet, or still aren't sure about it. Remember: Don't doubt yourself.**

 **-Octavia**

Un oneshot por ti:

 **Never mind, there's always pizza**

They had been dating for exactly three years today, and Puck wanted to do something special. Maybe his old enemies back in Faery would say he'd become weak since he'd met Sabrina, but it was worth it. Love, he mused, was definitely worth it. But how did he tell that to Sabrina? Without sounding like a cheesy romance movie, of course. Puck decided to cook dinner. Because food = love, right? He'd just watched the Lady and the Tramp movie, and it was giving him ideas.

Sabrina always cooked, but he had watched her before and it didn't look too hard. If Grimm could do it, anyone could do it. This was the mantra Puck repeated in his head as he squinted at the recipe the Marshmallow had printed for him.

"What the hell is a 'tbsp.'?" He muttered in confusion. Okay, so this might be a teeny, tiny bit harder than he thought it would be. But he could handle it. After all, he was the King of Faery, Emperor of hooligans, Lord of misfits and troublemakers, soon to be expert romantic and culinary extraordinaire. Now all he had to do was figure out what marinara was.

xXx

Sabrina walked in the door of their apartment in New York and immediately wrinkled her nose. Was something...burning? She reluctantly followed the scent to the kitchen and peeked in. "Hey babe. What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously, almost gagging at the stench of charred plastic. Her boyfriend turned to face her with a traumatised look of horror frozen on his face.

Soot was smudged across his cheekbones and forehead, his blonde hair was sticking straight up, and he was wearing a pink apron that read 'Kiss the Cook' in sparkly silver cursive. The pure fear and confusion written on his face was hilarious. Sabrina couldn't help it; she started to laugh. It started out as small giggles muffled behind a hand, but evolved into a chuckle, then a snicker, until she was shaking with silent laughter, tears streaming down her face. "What...happened...here?" She asked between snorts of laughter.

Puck's cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his head, rumpling his already disheveled curls. "Well, you know it's our anniversary, and I wanted to do something, uh, special for you. Er, I tried to make pasta, but um, it didn't turn out so well. As you can see." He mumbled awkwardly gesturing to the mess around him. Sabrina surveyed the mess. Eggs were cracked onto the counter, flour dusted every surface, pasta sauce was spilled on the table, and there was a half-melted spoon on the floor.

"Yeah, so in case you were wondering, it turns out I can't cook- Stop laughing!" He whined, as Sabrina began to giggle again. "Never mind, there's always pizza." The girl grinned, pulling out her trusty cellphone and ordering for them. Puck sat at the table and pouted.

"Cooking is not as easy as it looks." He declared defeatedly. Sabrina came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hey. I appreciate it. You tried, and that's what really matters to me. Love you." She murmured into his ear. He smiled and opened his mouth to say something, when the doorbell rang.

"PIZZA!" They both shouted, jumping to their feet. It was a common misconception that Sabrina didn't like eating; it was also a lie. Sabrina simply didn't like Granny Relda's food. Nothing about smoked sea urchins drizzled in cream of banshee ever appealed to her. But give her some good New York pepperoni-sausage pizza, and you would have to fight her for it. She flipped open the box hungrily and then froze.

A small blue, velvet box sat on the the middle of the pizza, on one of those little plastic tables. "Sabrina?" Puck asked carefully, searching her face for a reaction. She turned and looked at him, her eyes as wide as dinner plates, and he smiled nervously. "Open it." He urged her. His palms were sweaty, his heart was pounding, and his mouth had gone completely dry. With shaking hands she opened the box, to see a glittering diamond ring winking in the light. Tears pooled in her eyes, and Puck gently took the ring out of her hands and got down on one knee.

"In all my years of living, you have been the most remarkable, hell of a girl I've ever met. You're smart, and stubborn, and fierce as fuck, and I love everything about you. I don't want to live a life where you aren't in it. I honestly can't imagine it without you. " He swallowed. This was it. "So Sabrina Grimm, will you marry me?" And, there it was.

A tense silence followed before Sabrina replied. The blonde nodded numbly. "Yes." She whispered. "Yes, yes, yes!" Her voice grew louder every time and the tears flowed freely down her face as a grin lit up her whole face. Puck blinked in amazement. "You will? I mean, great! Wow. That's really, really great." And a goofy smile spread across his face too.

He, slid the ring gingerly on her left ring finger and stood up. Sabrina admired the lovely ring, a diamond flanked by two sapphires the same colour as her eyes. A bubbly, rich feeling melted inside her. Distracted, Puck let out a slight grunt when she crashed into him, and kissed him fiercely. Fireworks exploded in his chest and he felt warm satisfaction fill his heart. He had done it. And she had said yes.

Then something occurred to Sabrina. "Wait, if you were going to propose with pizza, why did you bother trying to cook?" She asked, frowning. Puck smirked, albeit a tiny bit sheepishly. "I wanted to make a mess. And it was really fun." Sabrina tried to muster a glare. "Well, Mr. Grimm, you will be cleaning it up by yourself. I hope it's just as fun." But the weak reprimand did nothing to quell the happiness that they were both enveloped in.

So this was the married life.

 **Review, please! And some questions for you all to answer: How did you discover FanFiction? Why did you start writing it? Any additional advice for prospective authors?**


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